This year’s Ring Out for Art contest in Jefferson has the new finalists selected and the shortest sculpture is going to be eight-foot tall.

Tower View Team Chair Deb McGinn says there were 41 entries, which is once again the most they’ve ever had. The submissions were from six other states, including Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado.

McGinn says an eight-foot sculpture titled, “Magnify” will be an interactive piece from Kurt Seese of Maryland. A nine-foot “Twist” sculpture involves two twisted pieces of metal from Jon Kamrath of Minnesota. Then there are two 12-foot pieces, with Ankeny resident Zach Bowman and his flower sculpture called, “Bloom,” followed by last year’s winner, Drew Evans-Arcenas of Marion and his “Spindle Serenade” sculpture. 

McGinn points out that a few years ago, the contest rules were reduced as far as what the sculpture had to be and what it had to include, which may have inspired more people to submit their art pieces and designs.

“Yeah I think it’s just added to the extra element of, ‘You can do most anything.’ It’s got to fit on that (concrete) pad, a four(-foot) by four(-foot) pad and that’s basically the only restriction that we have, and it has to be for outdoors.” 

McGinn adds, the art pieces will be installed the first week of May on the south plaza of the Greene County Courthouse grounds, and the public choice voting begins at the Bell Tower Festival weekend in June. Voting to end on August 15th. She says the winning artist will receive an additional $500 from Home State Bank and will remain on the courthouse grounds until next year’s contest and the rest of the sculptures will be removed in October.